University of Missouri researchers are developing an EHR that will encompass the needs of older patients, the numbers of which are growing exponentially as more and more Baby Boomers continue to age.
Clinical data for older adults will be generated from multiple settings, including primary care, inpatient, and home or long-term care facilities. Having an IT platform that automates the process and aggregation of clinical data from these multiple settings will help not only all the caregivers but the patients as well.
UM researchers are looking ahead to the needs of our population, which is obviously forward thinking. Not only is the older population growing, but the workforce is shrinking. When you have an existing shortage of nurses and primary care physicians, the problem becomes even more dire and challenging. One of the goals of EHRs is to bring more efficiency into the care delivery setting. Another goal is to improve the quality of care and patient safety by presenting a comprehensive view of the patient to every caregiver.
The other intangible to improving the quality of care for older adults is reducing risks through early intervention. This will save the industry a lot of money. Could it save billions? I think it's a fair estimate.
Closer to home, I see huge advantages to having an EHR for older adults. My octogenarian mother has had numerous surgeries and visits to the ER, specialists and her primary care physician, and takes multiple medications daily. She's had numerous lab tests done. To date, she doesn't have any home monitoring devices. I cannot vouch for sure whether the last two hospitals she had been admitted into had EHRs, but considering that none of the care was coordinated and the communication was lacking, it seemed to me that they did not have EHRs. None of the specialists she has seen or her PCP has EHRs. Who is coordinating her care? Who is aggregating all the data her visits are producing?
I see a lot of waste in how her care is being managed. There are a lot of moving parts to her healthcare needs, given her numerous chronic conditions. There is absolutely a need for an EHR geared specifically for the older population. I hope the pilot is working and somehow the system gets implemented beyond assisted-living facilities as quickly as possible.
Photo by fazen obtained via Creative Commons license.
